CH. Iveta Graf Marion

Ivanka was our first Shar-Pei. We only knew this breed from pictures and exhibitions until than.

When we went to choose our first Shar-Pei baby, we had no idea what to concentrate on. Fortunately enough, Ivanka made our decision easy. She was the only one that came to us and wanted us to pet her. At that moment we were sure which one to choose and Ivanka became a member of our family.

We did not think about exhibitions in the beginning and we had no idea what exhibiting was about.

Only when she was one year old, we decided to compare the qualities of our beautiful girl (every dog owner thinks his or her dog is the most beautiful) with other Shar-Pei. So we enrolled into an exhibition of Shar-Pei club in Svojšín.

We got information from our friends who exhibited their dogs, too, but different breed and one Saturday morning we set for a trip to our first exhibition.

After the arrival we were astonished when we saw about 50 Shar-Peis; we abandoned our hopes. If it were not for Ivanka who ignored the hustle and bustle around; she, and it was typical for her exhibition career, either fell asleep or looked bored or even disgusted. But at the moment she got into the ring, she immediately started to show off and behave as a perfect dog. Her effort was awarded with her first success V1, CAJC; this was the beginning of our exhibition career.

We always appreciated her great nature, her devotion to the family and her love she always showed us.

But man proposes God disposes. We had to say her goodbye forever on Dec. 27th, 2004, when she was nearly 6 years old. It was hard, but she has stayed in our hearts.